(animation) The Lower 48 United States was 0.5°F above average in 2014, making it the 34th warmest year in the historical record (1895-2014). It was the 18th year in a row with above-average temperature.

Just for fun, we asked the experts at the Rutgers Snow Lab to show us what their data (based on NOAA satellite images) had to say about whether the number of snow-covered days during the week of Christmas has changed at all across the U.S. in the past 50 years.

April snow extent was record low across Europe and Asia, and in June, the entire Northern Hemisphere was below average for the tenth year in a row. Spring snow is disappearing even more rapidly than Arctic sea ice in summer.

A worldwide network of Argo floats gives scientists an unprecedented understanding of the ocean depths. Argo floats descend and ascend through the top 2,000 meters of the ocean, collecting observations as they move.

For some states, the coldest day of the year usually occurs near the start of winter, while for others it comes near the end. This map reveals when history says your state will have its coldest day of the year.

The spotlight may have been on California this past summer, but groundwater reservoirs—often the back-up for surface water supplies during prolonged drought—are in decline across much of the southern United States. Meanwhile, people are using millions of gallons of water per day in regions dependent on groundwater aquifers